Conscription Policy (2) South Korea

I have to warn you that I am skipping citations in this article series. Some are confidential but I will give you info sources upon request.

—————–
The universal conscription system is also stipulated in the Military Service Act of the ROK. There are currently two categories of service: active military service (24-28 months) and supplemental military service (28-32 months). The main task in the supplemental military service is similar to the alternative services in the Taiwanese system, but even the conscripts in supplemental military service have to go through four weeks of basic military training. Supplemental military service is basically assigned to people who were judged to have physical or mental deficiencies, special qualifications due to academic achievements, certain family circumstances or special skills in an unusual profession.

In Korean society, the experience of military service has a huge impact on the political legitimacy of politicians. Many people I met pointed out that the defeat by Lee Hoi-chang of the Grand National Party in the last presidential election was partly due to the record of military service of Lee’s two sons (they finished their service earlier than usual). Although similar scandals of politicians, famous actors and singers are also widely reported in Taiwan, the social reaction to a corruption or even to a legitimate measure (such as naturalization to another country) to escape the mandatory military service seems harsher in general in Korea. The fact that Chen Shui-bian could be elected as President in Taiwan although he was exempted from military service because of a malformed elbow makes a big contrast to the situation of the last presidential election in Korea. Besides affecting the popularity of politicians and other public figures, the experience of mandatory military service, and lack thereof, penetrates all aspects of social life. Some scholars, such as Moon Seungsook and Vladimir Tikhonov (Pak Noja), point out the effects of a ‘militarization’ of society.

There are mainly two social problems regarding the conscription policy in Korea. One is conscientious objection and the other is the point system in civil service examinations. The number of conscientious objectors has been increasing; there are about 700 people who objected to serving in the military every year and about 900 are currently imprisoned today. Since people who experienced more than 18 months of imprisonment automatically get exempted from military service, those objectors are often sentenced to 18 months of prison time. Most of them are Jehovah’s Witnesses, but the number of other conscientious objectors, such as Buddhists and ideological pacifists is also increasing. The Supreme Court rejected claims by conscientious objectors that the Military Service Act infringes upon the freedom of religion and conscience guaranteed by the Constitution in 1969, 1985, 1992 and 2004, maintaining the position that conscientious objection to mandatory military service because of religious faith is illegal. In December 2005, however, the National Human Rights Commission recommended that the government recognize the individual right to refuse compulsory military service based on someone’s religious conviction.

The other issue is the point system, which gives veterans of conscription an advantage in entering the civil service, in their salary and also in their prospects for advancement. In 1999, the Supreme Court ruled that giving veterans bonus points on civil service exams was a violation of the human rights of women and the disabled, and those bonus points were eliminated at least legally. However, according to my interviews with quasi-government officials, the system still remains largely untouched and the voice for reform is not heard by the administration in many government-related organizations.

Unlike Taiwan, there are active social movements to promote alternative services by NGO activists. “The Korea Solidarity for Conscientious Objection (KSCO)” was established in 2002 and currently consists of 35 civic groups of various types. On the other hand, Marine Corps veterans seem to have a strong organization that advocates the maintenance of the mandatory military service. Most of the politicians are taking a conservative stance. According to a recent survey, only 22.7% of the respondents supported an all-volunteer system, and 74.1% opposed the idea of accepting conscientious objection to military service. (to be continued)